No, the article states that Perata's tax proposal would raise sales taxes in addition to the state tax rate. Perata's tax proposal would exist whether the 1% tax increase stayed or not. From the article:

"There is a chance that state lawmakers will allow a 1 percentage point sales tax hike implemented in April 2009 to lapse next summer. The basic state rate would then return to 7.25 percent, meaning Perata's proposal would put Oakland's tax rate at 9.25 percent — lower than the current rate, but still higher than all other cities in Northern California."

Oaktown Republic,
There is no guarantee that the tax will expire in July, as you claim. And even if it does, the tax proposed by Perata would still give Oakland the highest sales tax rate in Northern California.

Right, Max, exactly. Put this in context - we're talking eliminating 70% of the on-street parking along four blocks that don't have a lot of on-street parking, and have a lot of off-street parking. Overall parking loss, which is of course leads to greatly increased transit use, is maybe decreased 10%. And why does this article not even mention the benefits of reliable high-speed local transit?

The fact is, you can't say you're pro-transit if you oppose dedicated transit lanes. I appreciate the merchants' position, but it's simply untrue to say they are pro-transit if they think cars deserve more lane space than buses.

Merchants are universally paranoid about parking. And I mean very very paranoid. The thing is, paranoia is by definition an UNjustified fear.

Why is Randy Reed's fear unjustified? Stop by his security store sometime soon. You know what he has in front of it? A surface parking lot. You know how often it's full? Almost never. He has on-site off street parking that is never overflowing. And therefore, we have to wonder why exactly he's freaking out.

The real reason no one goes in there is because the food and the bakery item are horrible. The cheapest ingredients equal crappy food. Ever heard of butter? Yeah, neither have your pastries. A better managed team and a menu revamp would have people parking blocks away to eat at this prime location.

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I get the boom stereo and modified engine noise probs in my SoCal neighborhood and it's not any Pot Club; it's mostly the neighbors.

As far as the pot clubs; they should monitor the outside and deny sales to those acting in an inconsiderate manner. Head shops used to tell you they wouldn't sell you a certain type of powder accesory if you asked for them in any way other than "snuff" accessories.

I think the actions of jerks are across the board; though stoners (and even legit med users) can certainly fit that category.

If they can patrol the lots of bars and nightclubs, they can try to provide some abatement here as well.

Hope you get it resolved.

Ultimate solution is not making it a closet industry and zone it for more appropriate commercial spaces.

Considering how heavily young children are now medicated to get them to comply with an educational system that increasingly resembles thirteen years of filling out 1040s, I'd venture to guess the neighborhood third graders are higher than the BPG members. It's the fancy French school, too: these parents have some uncompromisingly lofty ambitions for their 8 year olds.

This could be an opportunity to enhance the broader appeal of what culitivation of Marijuana has engendered, a greater knowledge of plants and how to grow them under a variety of conditions. This is a science fair waiting to happen, as it should be viewed. The requisite skills needed to cultivate marijuana are indeed a gateway itself, but not for recreation purposes necessarily, but for developing survival skills in an urban environment.

There could be enormous benefits as well as a devillification of marijuana users if a comprehensive plan could be developed. It is give and take and if anyone who has ever responsibly used pot, its not hard to be civil about almost anything.

Berkely has always been ahead of things, but this could be another breakthrough the rest of the country needs. Why not put a store in the middle of city-center somewhere surrounded by schools and cops. It should be a public institute to be studied and developed. Composting and community gardening and a variety of useful relationships can be learned and taught at the very center to include a range of plant growth and settings, edible or ornamental.

: “Berkeley's Pot Club Mistake”
I and my wife had the misfortune of renting a cottage on Wallace St. that directly abutted the east property line of the BMG. We were plagued by the disrespect shown by its clients to their residential neighbors.

If you want to draw your own conclusions, we invite you to linger on the sidewalk in front of BPG for a hour or so. Do so during their business hours after dark, and imagine yourselves as neighbors. Listen to all the guys revving up their twin-OHC muscle engine cars, usually with glass-pack mufflers (designed to make noise). Listen as they sit in their cars for five minutes with their engines idling. Listen to the maddening aplified low frequency noise entering the sound space from the trunk-installed sub-woofers of "boom cars." Listen to the cross-parking lot shouted conversations of clients.

Lastly, think "aesthetics." Do you want to have in your community a facility with a concertina wire protected chain-link fence? Do you want to share space with an enterprize, the outside of which, rife with galvanized garbage can planters, resembles nothing so much as the parking lot of a "reptile-farm" or of a tractor-haul arena along some rural southern highway.

For years, the residents of West Berkeley, to no avail, having been trying to get rid of its chronic air pollution that comes from Pacific Steel. Let BPG move next to PS, forming a tidy package of offensive air, noise, & aesthetic insult.

I live in Berkeley and am a member of the club. I firmly believe that this article portrays an unrealistic danger associated with the BPG. The club is excellent at running a civil, respectable facility. Right now, the dispensary is operating only a few blocks from where it would like to move, so THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. The BPG is one of the best of neighbors, since they give back hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity to numerous Berkeley organizations. Don't believe the hype, we are a lucky community to have the BPG.

As the Executive Director for Beverly Hills NORML90210.org, cancer survivor and legal cannabis patient, I am filled with mixed emotions about this ordinance. I am the first person to stand up for the rights of patients, however, there have obviously been some people in Los Angeles abusing the system. Each day we receive hundreds of emails and phone calls asking for guidance on the latest regulations. The legal system is confusing at best. Recently I testified before City Council to clarify the need for CLEAR, CONCISE and CONSISTENT legislation. In my personal life, I am faced with serious health issues that could cost my life due to my inability to qualify for a liver transplant. Does it matter that I have never smoked a cigarette or done drugs of any kind in my life? Apparently not. I used legal medicinal cannabis during my cancer treatment. While cannabis has saved my life thus far, prohibiting the growth, spread and metastisizing of the tumors throughout my system, I recently learned that the mere fact that I used Cannabis as an alternative health treatment could disqualify me for a life-saving organ transplant. My hope and prayers are that the cannabis medicine that I use daily will keep me alive until the laws can change. I am not alone. Patients like me die each and every day, but the mainstream media does not report that news. At what point will the general public and mainstream media care about this injustice? Meanwhile, I hope that others will join me in the fight for clarification and legalization for medicinal cannabis and the responsible adult use of marijuana.